With the ever steady push for cleaner and more efficient energy use, batteries and the capabilities they enable are becoming increasingly important. In particular, battery use in transportation and mass energy storage is growing. However, these higher intensity applications tend to generate greater amounts of heat and thus require a greater emphasis on thermal management.
Battery cells are typically formed with a pair of electrodes and an ion conducting electrolyte positioned therebetween. Battery packs are commonly formed by packing together multiple cells, thus enabling greater capacity and/or power. In particular, lithium ion batteries are becoming increasingly popular for automotive applications and various commercial electronic devices because they are rechargeable and have minimal memory effect.
Storing and operating battery cells at an optimal operating temperature is important to enable the battery to operate at its highest efficiency. Further, minimizing temperature extremes increases the usable life of the battery cell. Thus, opportunities exist to improve upon prior battery pack assemblies to enable optimal operating temperatures that ensure the longest possible life cycle, rated capacity, and nominal charge and discharge rates.